Caligari



July 15, 1952 E. CALIGARI, JR 2,603,285

VENETIAN BLIND Filed April 16, 1949 2 SHEETS $HEET 1 IN V EN TOR.

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WZ ZW A ffORNY y 1952 E. CALIGARI, JR 2,603,285

VENETIAN BLIND Filed April 16, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 :RLE- 5 111%.. E 7

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Tin-E INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY The present invention relates to Venetian blinds andit'consists in theicombination's, constructions, and arrangementsofparts herein describedj'and claimed. p Generally thereis' provided aVenetian blind comprising an upper or tilt rail which ispivotallyconnected to brackets which are af hired in the. upper end of awindow frame f and a lower'rail which is interconnected with the tiltrail by means of ladderv tapes on either side thereof. The ladder tapesare themselves interconnectedaby pairs of slat-supporting cross bands.The ladder tapes are not only flexible but formed of yieldable materialsuch as rubber or the like so that the bottom rail maybe moveddownwardly away from the tilt rail and fastened at any desired angle inmeans provided for such contingency upon the window ,sill. Thedevic'efis, of; course, providedwith slats butjthe construction is suchthat all cords are eliminated and, hence; the slats are removable atalltimes from the sides of the device. Means is provided for the definitealignment of the slats.

It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide a device ofthe character set forth which is simple in construction, inexpensive tomanufacture and efiective and efficient in use.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of thecharacter set forth in which all cords and the like are eliminated.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device of thecharacter set forth having yieldable ladder tapes.

A further object of the invention is the provision of simple means forraising and lower ing a Venetian blind.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of simple meansfor tilting a Venetian blind.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of simple meansfor retaining a Venetian blind in preselected position.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent from areading of the following specification taken in conjunctionwith thedrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical elevational view of an embodiment of theinvention,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the device in loweredposition,

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3--3 of Figure1,

Figure 4 is an enlarged plan View of a slat forming a part of theinvention,

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 55 of Figure 2,

2,603,285 I VENETIAN Esm EugeneCaligari, Jr., Noriollaya. 1, 1 muta tApril is, is iajs ri uv 87591 weclaims. (01.16

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.,.1=i ur ""is; a;iv t ct lt an ve e S ti q 1 view 's dwin he evic modftda h r p 5' tion whiahit ayassume. a

Figure '7 is'a sectional view takenf'along'f line 1 1 of Fi r W 1 Figure18 is a fragmentary sectional flvi'ejw i1? lustratingmertain detailsoi'f the invention, and

Figure '9 is an elevational' view of an element of, theinvention. j jReferring more particularly to the ,drawings, there is shown therein awindowcasementfhav ing atop ll'L s ides II and a sill l2. "A top railor"tilt rail 13 is p'rovidedfat its" outer ends with centrally 'disposedscrews i l which are each revolubly mo'i ntedin brackets l5 'afiixed bymeans of *screws'lt orthe' like to the-"top Hl'of the casement. j

A bottom rail ll isals'oiprov dedand is 111-- terconnected with the tiltraill iilby means of a plurality of ladder tapes 1 8, of jwhich' two areshown in this instance. "The ladder tapes ialare disposed 'irifpairstheiconyeh io nal manner but, in accordance With'the teachingsofthisinvention, are formed of flexible material such as, for example,rubber.

Interconnecting the pairs of ladder tapes I8 is a plurality of spacedpairs of cross bands ['9 which may be formed of any flexible material.

A transversely extending slat 20 extends between each pair of crossbands l9 and the corresponding pair of cross bands in the other orothers, as the case may be, of the ladder tapes and each slat isprovided with recesses 2| which are adapted to receive therein the innersides of one of each pair of ladder tapes I8. These recesses 2| need notbe very deep as their principal purpose is to act as a guide wherebyconsecutive slats will lie in vertical alignment in the assembleddevice.

Embedded, as indicated at 22, centrally in each grsid of the bottom rail[1 is the shank of a handle tends outwardly of the bottom rail I1 isaffixed a substantially circular peripherally notched or serrated stud24.

Aifixed to the sill I2 by means of screws 25 or the like beneath eachofthe studs is a hookshaped arcuate bracket 25a having a plurality ofdependant serrations or teeth 26 and, integrally formed with the bracket25a upon the outer side thereof in each case is a vertically dependantguide member 21 having a vertical slot 28 therein which slot is open atthe lower end of the guide member 21.

In operation, it will'be apparent that the blind forming the presentinvention will normally re- On that portion of the shank 22 which ex- 3main in an upraised or collapsed condition much in the mannerillustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings but that when it is desired toextend the same it is only necessary to pull the bottom rail downwardlythrough a distance of the order of the length of the unstretched laddertapes I8 to thereby stretch the ladder tapes [8 to roughly twice theirunstretched length, as shown in Fig. 2, and then passthe studs 24beneath the brackets 25a, as illustratedin Figure 8 ofthe drawmg's andthen allow the elasticity of the ladder tapes l8 to pull the bottom railand its attendant mechanisms upwardly so that the studs 24 will be, en.-gaged by the dependant teeth 26 of the bracket 25a, as illustrated inFigure 5 of the drawings;

When it is desired to tilt the slats 20, it is only necessary to graspthe handles 23 and press the bottom rail ll downwardly to the positionshown in Figure 8 and thereafter turn the bottom rail I! .to the desir"dangle and then allow thes'ame to be moved upwardly bythe elasticity ofthe ladder tapes t6 again be 'gri'pp'ed by the teeth 25, asillustrated,for example, in Figure 6 of the drawings. b a It will also be apparentthat the slats 20 may be removed at anytime by simply sliding the sametransversely out of the memb rs 19 and that the recesses 2| may be veryshallow indeed as their sole function is to act as a. guide for theaugment vertically or the slats and not for holding the saine. I I v 1While but one form of the invention has been shown anddescribed herein,it will be r'eadi lk apparent tothos'e skilled in the art that mam minermodifications maybe made withoutdeparting from the spirit of theinvention or the scope of the appended claims.

Whatis claimedis: v 1

l. A v cordless Venetian blind comprising an upper horizontally pivotedtilt rail a plurality or pairs of stretchable elastic ladder tapesextending downwardly from said tilt rail, the ladder tapes of each pairbeing disposed on opposite sides of said tilt rail; a. plurality of slatsupporting cross bands extending between the tapes of each pair atspaced points therealong; slats extending between adjacent pairs ofladder tapes and supported by said cross bands; and a bottom railsupported by said tapes and extending intermediate the tapes of eachpair, the stretchability or said tapes being sumcient to permit saidbottom rail to be repeatedly moved downwardly through a distance of theorder of the length of the unstretched tapes.

2. A cordless Venetian blind according to claim 1, further comprisingmovable angular position locking means carried by said bottom rail; andfixed locking means removably engageable with said movable locking meansin a plurality of angular relationships therewith.

3. A cordless Venetian blind according to claim 2 wherein thefixedlocking means is engageable with the movable locking means in aposition of the lower rail in which the tapes are stretched.

4. A cordless Venetian blind according tociaiin 3 wherein the fixedlocking means is hook-shaped having serrations disposed about its innerperiphery and the movable locking means comprises a circular memberhaving peripheral 's'e'rrations shaped for engagement with theserrations of said hook.

EUGENE CALIGARI, Jim.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in file of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

